Blog
Because of That: A But/Therefore Test for Your Novel’s Plot
I once wrote about 145,000 words of “and then this happened.” My protagonist’s life, event after event, in order. Every scene was fine on its own. Together they added up to a very long list.
What finally helped was a test I now use on my own work and with the writers I coach. Between every pair of scenes, you should be able to put one of three connectors: because of that, therefore, or but. Each one means the first scene caused or complicated the second. If none of them fits, and the only honest link is “and then,” you have a sequence, not a plot.
Who Do You Think You Are? (the important character questions to ask)
Who is telling the story?
The simplest answer is your main character, right? But that’s not always the case. Plenty of books have multiple point of view characters, by which I mean the reader gets to experience the story through the eyes of more than one character. This is often, but not always, done by switching point of view (POV) from chapter to chapter.
So there’s your first choice: are you going to tell the story through multiple points of view or just one?
4 Ways to Keep Working on Your Book When You Can’t Write
I know there are people who thrive in the heat. I am not one of them—when the temp rockets into the 90s (and with the attendant humidity soup we get here) I wilt like an unwatered plant and it can be hard to squeeze any good words out of my brain.
So I thought it might be useful to share some ways to keep working on your book without actually working on your book, if your creative juices have sizzled away on a day like today…or anytime the muse has fled and you’re feeling frustrated or stuck.
Beware the Bland Book on the Back of the Door
This takes me back, all the way to 2018, when I had what I was sure was the final iteration of my outline. 🤣🤣🤣 To paraphrase Leslie Knope: Kerry, you beautiful tropical fish.
No one gets it 100% right the first time. Writing a novel is a process, not an event.
What I really had, I know now, was a bunch of plot points. Their only connection was that they tracked the events of my protagonist’s life. There was no real meaning, nothing juicy–just the dreaded ‘and then this happened’. And, friends, I wrote 145K words worth of ‘and this this happened’. Blerg.
Craft a Compelling Character Arc
Writing interesting characters that grab your readers from page 1 and keep them riveted to your story is easier said than done. We all know it’s important and we’ve all probably gotten the feedback that your character ‘just wasn’t connecting’ or ‘felt flat, two dimensional’.
Ugh, right? It could be entirely valid feedback—but what do you do with that? How do you solve it?
Frankly, when I started writing my novel, I figured I was halfway to home from the start. When someone asked me what my book was about, I’d say, “It’s about a female pirate in the 1700s…” and it didn’t really matter what I said after that. “Awesome! That’s so cool!” If I could sell everyone who said that a copy of my (still in progress) book, I’d have a guaranteed best-seller on my hands.
Why Book Coaching?
One of the things I think is most critical to writing a successful novel is planning–and part of that is knowing your ‘why’? (You can download a free guide complete with exercises to help you figure that out if you sign up for my newsletter!)
And so I thought it would be appropriate to talk about some of my why’s: how knowing why I wanted to write my novel helped me take it to the next level and why book coaching felt like such a good fit for me.
Why Plan? (No, I Didn’t Say Outline)
In which Kerry makes her case for how spending some time thinking about your book can save you time and make your drafting process simpler and more efficient, while also freeing you creatively!